We were on our way to the airport to pick up Lance and Stacy. It seemed like a normal enough trip. Everything was going fine until we got on the freeway. We didn't even make it a full mile to the next exit when the car started making funny sounds. I thought it was another car at first and Ashton thought it was the engine. It was neither. We pulled over and to my surprise, and Ashton's relief, it was the tire. Oh, but the fun didn't stop there because it wasn't just a flat. It was a blowout. Where the side meets the round tread part was all coming apart. We did find a screw but it didn't seem like it was in the right part of the tire to cause that kind of damage. (Don't worry, I took pictures later when we got the tire off and in the trunk.)
We spent the next few minutes getting the tire off, which was exciting for me because I've never changed a tire in my life. I'm so glad that it didn't happen when I was driving by myself. That probably would have inspired a frantic, tearful call to Ashton to come fix the situation. We got that all taken care of, replacing the tire with the spare, which brings me to another interesting point. The spare tire was thinner than the others. Who thinks that it's a good idea to make the spare thinner than the rest of the tires? It just doesn't seem safe. Isn't the point of a spare to have an extra tire that can substitute for your regular tire in a pinch so you don't have to worry about driving unsafely? Who wants to get a spare on and still have to worry about being safe? In any case, because we didn't know if the spare would last, we drove back home and got Ashton's car. Later that day, we got a new tire put on. Hope this one lasts longer than its cousin.
Now, the funny part of all of this was that a little light had come on in the car. Apparently, the little light was to announce low tire pressure, but believe me, the symbol looked nothing like anything I'd expect to indicate that something's wrong with the tires. Who thought that a semicircle with a squiggly line on the bottom and an exclamation point would suggest a tire problem? I guess I could have looked it up in the manual, but I thought it had something to do with the oil. If you think you know what it is then there's no need to look it up right? Anyways, the light went off when the changed the tire to a regular tire. Thinking that was rather odd, I looked it up and discovered the true meaning of the light. Oops. Guess I'll know better next time.
This is the damage to the tire
Close up
Dinky spare tire
6 comments:
Good Job Fixing the tire... but i don't think duct tape is going to do a very good job on this car problem. :) Glad you realized it was you before you were too far into the trip.
Sounds eventful... unfortunately most people get stuck thinking they have a spare tire when they actually have a "dummy tire"... truly. Bob hates that... dummy tires come with vehicles... spare tires have to be bought and usually don't fit in the extra compartment.... who would of thunk it....?
Oh man, those donut tires stink. I'm glad it all worked out. Flats are for the birds.
The spare is smaller and only for temporary use to get you to a place to repair or replace the flat. The car company saves money by putting in a smaller spare. You can put a regular tire in as a spare if it'll fit. Nice having someone there to change the tire!! I have a motor plan for me.
I'm sorry that happened. Thanks so much for picking us up. You guys are awesome!
Post a Comment